Cardinal responsible for Boston child abuse scandal dies

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Cardinal Bernard F. Law, the US Cardinal who was forced to step down over the Boston child abuse scandal in 2003, died aged 86 on Wednesday.

500 pedophile cases involving priests had occurred but were covered up when Bernard was the Cardinal in Boston.

Bernard was appointed to post of Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.

The investigation by The Boston Globe newspaper into the scandal was the subject of an Oscar-winning film, Spotlight (2015).

The Vatican announced that Bernard will be given a full religious funeral at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, as per protocol, drawing ire from his victims.

Mitchell Garabedian, who was the victims’ lawyer 15 years ago, told the New York Times on Wednesday that “his clients felt cheated that the cardinal was never brought to justice and can receive a full and traditional funeral”.

Cardinal O’Malley, Cardinal Law’s successor in the archdiocese, held a news conference upon his death, trying to defend the memory of the dead while admitting that what the late Cardinal had done remains a source of pain for the victims.

“All of us are more than one-dimensional. To be realistic, you have to recognize that there was more to this man than his mistakes”, said O'Malley, adding that “We have anticipated this day, since it would open a lot of old wounds and cause much pain and anger in those who have suffered so much already” .

In January 2001, Bernard was named defendant in some cases involving pedophile priests. At first, Law refused to be drawn into the scandal, but then it escalated following the revelation of The Boston Globe's sealed record.

In December 2003, Law was forced to resign, saying in a statement that “the particular circumstances of this time suggest a quiet departure. Please keep me in your prayers.”

In the same year, the newspaper was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

However, Bernard never faced any criminal charges.

Two years after the resignation from Boston, he moved to Rome and was appointed to the post of Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.